Constructivism Teaching Summary

Within the book, Constructivism and Science Teaching, written by Alan Colburm (1998), he highlights what is constructivism and how to use this theory to teach science. Colburm explains when to use lecture and textbooks within your science teaching and explains how to transition the classroom to a constructivism-based learning. Colburm shows how to use the 21st century skills of cooperative learning and more critical thinking skills through constructivism-based learning (p.18). Since the theory of constructivism is about the nature of reality and how society understands the world they live, it is only natural for constructive-based learning to be the way to teach science in the classroom (p.41). Within science, constantly changing the idea that …show more content…
Teachers have to motivate their students to learn, and use the material they learn in class. In the past students came to school, memorized what the teacher told them, and then moved on to the next thing to learn or memorize, but with the advancements in technology, teachers are forced to check that the students not only memorize but understand what is being taught. According to Sedden and Clark, in the article Motivating Students in the 21st Century (p.609), it was found that with motivation students knew what was needed from them and often did better than unmotivated students. This observation was seen through research that Sedden and Clark discovered. Students must be interested in the subject and it is left to the teacher to make it interesting to them (p. 609). Also, it was found that it was important for the student to feel connected to what they are learning, why is this important, and why is it important to me (p. 610). Students want to feel a sense of belonging and have ownership of what they are learning and this can be achieved through motivation according to Sedden and …show more content…
However, it is up to the teacher to find various solutions to integrate technology within the lessons that the he/she is teaching. According to the research of the National Education Association (IEAB p.5), combining technology with traditional teaching is first achieved when teachers no longer resist learning about new technology. The teacher must not feel intimidated by the student’s own knowledge of technology, he or she must embrace that knowledge and see it as a wonderful source to learn from. Before overcoming their fear of using technology, the teacher must first conquer the cost of technology. Not all schools have a wide variety of funding for technology so it is left up to the teacher to find ways to make use of what is available. This can be done with an old idea but with a new approach, constructivism is a great way to over come the challenges that teachers face teaching the 21st century student and is also a great theory on how to get the students involved in the physical world of